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5 Steps to Help Boost your Metabolism

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As we age, it seems harder and harder to lose those extra pounds. While metabolism can slow down, it is not a battle we have to lose.

Metabolism slows due to inactivity, muscle loss, sleep disturbances and the inability to absorb nutrients as we once did.

To “beat” the system, one of things we may try is fad diets leading to excessive calorie restriction. Oh they can help you drop pounds quickly! But there is a cost. Research shows extreme calorie restriction or other dramatic eating changes, indicates it’s likely you’ll gain the weight back. You might even gain back more than you started with. This may be due to the fact you dropped your metabolic set point. No wonder it seems so frustrating!

Positive changes you can make to combat these metabolic changes:

  1. Strength Training is one of the most important changes you can make. It will combat muscle loss which keeps metabolism pumping.
  2. Eating adequate protein (25 – 30g/meal). Spread your protein between your meals to keep the metabolism chugging at a steady rate.
  3. Focus on whole foods, containing colorful fruits and vegetables.
  4. Sleep can escape us as we age, thus creating a relaxing environment and a schedule can be helpful.
  5. Increase overall activity. Find things you enjoy: Walks, Bike Rides, Swimming, An Aerobic Class, Yardwork/Gardening, or heck clean the garage!

In some cases supplements can be helpful. Protein powders, micronutrients can help fill those gaps. Even oils can be incorporated especially in sleep and relaxation!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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This may sound contradictory to us long term dieters who have been trained to resist, resist, resist, but a study 2007 actually proved that skipping a meal was a significant factor in diminishing willpower.

It showed relatively little variance in normal functions of the body like breathing, HOWEVER, it did show diminished mental clarity and a significant rise in errors.

So if you skip lunch because work was too busy, how do you think your evening willpower will be?

Food for thought – Literally

May be an image of fruit and text that says 'FOOD FOR ## BEST FIT TRAINING thonght Better Endurance and Strength'

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HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED AS A BEGINNER

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It’s hard to stay motivated as a beginner to a new exercise program. We tend to start out with a bang and then we lose our motivation and fall off completely. What we weren’t told is that motivation is not the way we continue, it is discipline. Motivation is hard to hold on too, discipline is like an old friend it will always be there to support you. And like a friendship you have to build it, by always showing up, keeping promises and in return you get to see results, Here are some ways to start building discipline

  1. Start slowly with reasonable goals
  2. Don’t wait until you feel like it – schedule the workouts like would any other appointment
  3. Move more, something is better than nothing
  4. Quality over quantity
  5. Remember Why
  6. Forgive yourself when you stumble, you only lose when you quit

Lose Weight after 50

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Weight Loss over 50 can seem daunting, I understand.  Most of us thought we would get a free pass by now and not have to worry about this stuff.

We were wrong.

Our health is not something to take for granted.  In fact, it’s the most important thing we can take care of to ensure we have to worry less about the serious problems in our 70s,  80s and 90s.  Although let me be clear there is no free pass even then!

It can seem harder to lose weight over 50 because, more than likely, we have become more sedentary.  When we become sedentary naturally we lose muscle mass, which incidentally happens as we age anyway!  So that’s like a double whammy.

I like to refer to muscle as the body’s engine.  The bigger the engine the more gas (calories) it burns or heck to simply idle (hello couch time).  

Your engine is smaller?  Then it takes less calories to run that body, so if you keep overeating what your body needs to run, you’re just filling up surplus cans of gas (fat).  Bigger engine = more muscle = more food 

Don’t be afraid to start lifting weights!  Let’s work on retaining our lean muscle mass, and maybe even building some along the way, wouldn’t that be cool!

Yes, there are some hormone fluctuations, but that’s not normally the problem.  The biggest problem can be fixed with eating a well balanced diet including protein, fruits and veggies AND movement to include strength training!  It’s time to ditch the cardio only movement, lift something heavy!

If you think you can’t get cardio during a strength training session, come see me!  I’d love to prove you wrong.

What’s in that cup?!

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When I have this drink I usually get “What are you drinking?” With that scrunched up face

Well it’s one of those products I choose to try to fix a problem I was having.  How many times do you buy products you’ve “heard of” in order to fix a problem you think you have? 

I am not here to talk you into buying any product.  I am here to tell you what has worked for me and IF you are considering a product like this, I have tried it, and I believe this to be a quality product for you to try.

Looking at my diet from the beginning of time, I have always been on the lower end of RDA veggie amounts.  I am proud to say I’m so much better now that I understand the importance of their role in fueling my body by providing vitamins, anti-oxidants and overall gut health, but there is no way I’m hitting all my servings in a day nor am I mixing up my choices much.

The more research I do, the more apparent the importance of gut health rises to the top especially in the case of chronic illness.  For me it’s a hard concept because how do you check on your gut?  It’s like way in there!!  I know I’m weird, but honestly this is how my brain works.

I started using my green product about 3 years ago because it provides nutrients I’m lacking when I don’t eat all my veggies and it also has probiotics for gut health.  I continue using this product because I noticed an increase in overall energy, my skin has far less breakouts, and if I eat poorly (like traveling) it really does help with how I digest those foods, making my belly feel better not to mention I can’t even remember the last time I had a cold (me knocking on wood).

Why did I try this product over the others? Because I know 1stphorm ensures quality ingredients, I could go into the boring stuff like where the ingredients are sourced from and I’d be happy too if you drop me a message! Anyway I’ve learned at this age quality matters in some cases more than others and my health matters.  Another bonus is this product has microencapsulated probiotics, meaning they have a coating that allows more of the beneficial stuff to get further into the gut.  This fits right in with my, How can I ensure my gut is healthy?  I mean it’s way in there?!  

IF you are considering a green product I wholeheartedly recommend this one https://1stphorm.com/products/opti-greens-50/?a_aid=bestfitt and if you’d like to discuss my experience and how it helped me, send me a message. I’m always happy to talk about my experience, well if we are being honest I’m always happy to talk…period.

Weight gain and working out

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Have you seen an increase in weight when you start working out?

Don’t panic!  While this can be extremely frustrating, there are a couple of  reasons for this.

When you start a new exercise program your body experiences inflammation due micro trauma tears occuring in our muscles, which sounds scary, but it is not.  These tears are very small and once repaired build stronger and leaner muscles.  More muscles, more calories burned at rest, which is what we want.  However, during the repair process your body will experience some inflammation which is natural, and can cause water retention.

In addition, the body will store more Glycogen to provide the extra fuel your body needs for the new exercise.  Glycogen binds with water to fuel your muscle which requires excess water or water weight as well.  As your body gets more efficient at the exercise the glycogen stores will return to back to more of a normal state.

Another possible cause is eating a bit more due to increased hunger, especially if your exercise of choice is cardio.  As we have discussed before cardio can drive up your hunger hormones.  Be aware of this and choose healthier food choices such as lean protein, vegetables and fruits over the prepared processed food which can be easier to reach for.

What can you do about this?

Exercise Patience, and Drink Water!  Water helps flush out water.  When your body is getting enough water it is less likely to hold onto it because it has enough to maintain the body’s functions optimally. Not to mention, water will help keep those hunger triggers at bay as well.  The recommended amount of water to aim for is drinking at least half your body weight in ounces or 100 oz (140lbs woman drinks 70 oz).

Remember if you stay consistent you will see results.  Truth be told,  exercising patience may be the hardest exercise of all.

MOTIVATION VS DISCIPLINE

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Motivation is something that is hard to hold on too. There are very few, if any, that are motivated to workout out or follow a nutrition plan all the time.


We start out with a bang! We are killing it everyday for a week at the gym, and we haven’t had our favorite food for two!


Then it fades, we are tired, we are sore, we really need that treat. Back to the couch we went, we failed. But you didn’t! What you experienced is normal.


Here is a little secret, motivation will always wane, especially if we start out too hard and too fast. That’s why it’s better to focus on the habits and build discipline.


Discipline is doing something like brushing your teeth, getting up when the alarm goes off, taking out the trash, doing the dishes, those things we really don’t think about doing, instead we build the habits to take care of those routine, but mandatory tasks. I don’t know about you, but I am not motivated to do any of those things!


Losing motivation doesn’t have to be an excuse to give up on your fitness program!


Motivation is awesome if you got it, but it’s those habits you continue to build when you are not motivated which gives you the biggest gains toward your fitness goals.


Comment below if you have been guilty of using this excuse.


Download the Free Habit Tracker here on the website to get you started https://bestfittraining406.com/free-downloads/

Understanding the 4th macronutrient – Alcohol

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Why has Alcohol been identified as the fourth Macro Nutrient, when it has no nutritional value?  Let me see if I can explain this to you.

When your body is working or at rest it is burning stores of fuel (carbs and fats) while our friend protein is working at building and repairing our tissues. Even at rest we are burning calories, and the more muscle you have the greater amount of calories you are burning.

Here’s the deal with alcohol, it does not store in your body like carbs and fats.

So why does it seemingly have an effect on the inability to lose weight, if it doesn’t stick around?  

Because alcohol is an immediate energy source and the body doesn’t see it as friendly so it burns it as quickly as possible, shutting down other forms of energy utilization.  Carbs and fat kick their feet up and go in for the Netflix binge, and won’t even think about getting up again until Alcohol has left the building.

Because it burns so quickly, research suggests that it may lead to something known as “fat sparing” where fatty oxidation is suppressed, meaning fat is being spared from being burned more often.

It can also cause us to eat more, remember those trips to Denny’s or the drive-thru after a night of drinks?  When this happens we are just adding more members to the Netflix party and they brought snacks!  In addition, when we combine alcohol with sugary mixers it is a double whammy, even if the names are super clever like “Kiss on the Lips”, not to mention they are usually much larger than any one serving.

Yes you can still drink, but by understanding what happens when we do, it can help us make better decisions, like keeping the sugary drinks to a minimum and choosing one or two drinks of things like red wine, or using low calorie mixers like club soda.  Don’t forget to up your intake of water between drinks, alcohol is dehydrating and a hydrated body functions better at flushing out those toxins.

Cheers!

Rest you say?

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You may follow an online workout, and it says to “rest” between sets.  You think “Cool I can rest!” Or “I don’t need no stinking rest!”

Did you know your rest intervals are based on your goals and your fitness level?  There is more to the rest interval than to just chill out.  In fact, it is kind of an art to fitness programming.

In endurance or aerobic training the rest intervals will be shorter, however strength and power goals have longer rest periods.

If you finish a set and don’t feel like you need a rest, consider lifting heavier or pushing harder.  The rule of thumb is to be able to push through the assigned reps, with the last two being a little difficult to complete.  A rest is needed in order to let the muscle recover.

Believe it or not, there is a lot of science that goes into determining those rest periods, and how much recovery your muscle needs for the goals you are working toward.  So the next time you see a rest period programmed into the workout you are doing, follow it.  Don’t yack with a friend for 3 minutes when your rest interval is 60 seconds, conversely don’t skimp on waiting the full 60 seconds – push harder the next set, if you don’t feel like you need a rest. You should need your rest interval.

If you would like to work with a personal trainer, to program for your individual fitness goals, please fill out the contact form I’d love to discuss your personalized goals.